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Saturday, September 18, 2004
Top firms to pay P1M more in taxes: Arroyo
MANILA -- President Arroyo said Friday that government would exact P1 million in additional taxes from the top 50,000 corporate and individual taxpayers.
Arroyo said Internal Revenue Commissioner Guillermo Parayno Jr. would work out the details of the new revenue drive.
As to whether it would be a happy or gloomy Christmas, Arroyo said it was too early too tell, adding the market was waiting for the "signal of political will" from government. She said the "signals" would reduce interest rates and free more funds for services.
She also said she was ordering the transportation department to privatize the assets of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) so that the assets could be used to finance the Bicol Railroad project in view of dearth of funds.
Arroyo welcomed reports that legislators were likely to pass four of the eight tax measures she proposed before the end of the year.
"I think that's good; that's half of it," Arroyo said during a luncheon with Palace reporters.
The general tax amnesty bill, which is the first measure passed by Congress, should not be viewed as rewarding tax evaders but as an opportunity for people who did not pay the right amount of tax in the past to do so now.
She said it was up to lawmakers if they wanted to follow the measures that her economic managers were proposing or come up with their own way of raising revenues and plugging the deficit.
"I submitted them to Congress. I told Congress, however, my economic managers do not have the monopoly of wisdom. I'm just telling you, we need to raise P80 billion. If you have other better ideas, you're very welcome," she said.
She said the proposed tax measures were more or less patterned after the UP School of Economics recommendations.
"We must finance our growth ourselves as much as possible. That's why we have to face the truth after all this culture of borrowing, borrowing, borrowing. We have to change that mindset," she said. (JMR)
(September 18, 2004 issue)
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